Arawn stared the icy blonde, and instantly decided he hated her she wasn’t his cup of tea at all honestly she made him want to spit. He was half tempted to throw the hot coffee on her, but in a room full of witness’s he knew that would end badly, plus what if she was magic like him? Who was she to judge him and stare at him like he killed her puppy… which he might just do if, she had one at this point. “No i was paying attention, snow queen it’s not my fault you can’t hear.” He said before chuckling darkly and shaking his head at her. “Listen i offered to buy another one, you can either take it or have your half drunk bad tasting coffee.”
“I was listening perfectly well, which is why I knew it was my drink and tried to stop you from drinking it. If you had been paying any kind of attention to your surroundings you would have seen me reach for it before you grabbed it,” Her gaze narrowed as she crossed her arms. The air around them had dropped in temperature, but not so much that it couldn’t be written off as just a vent turning on above them. Was he entirely dense? How could he possibly not understand that he was at fault in the situation? Moreover, how did him mistaking her drink for his correlate to her apparently not having paid attention? Elsa tried to stay away from strong emotions, but this rude stranger was the exact type of person she despised. Someone who was completely incapable of overcoming their own ego to see that they were in the wrong. “A medium cold brew with hazelnut cream,” She gave him her order, hoping that the situation would be over soon and she would never again have the displeasure of running into him.
Arawn had just been wanting coffee and he wasn’t honestly paying any attention, to what names they were calling. He was just waiting and scrolling through different oddities he wanted to purchase for his shop, before sighing as it seemed to be taking forever. The older man didn’t get it as he placed his order around the same time as the blonde in front of him, and yet nothing had appeared yet.
Just as he was about to go and complain, he thought he heard his name called an rushed past the blonde and grabbed the cup of coffee. He heard her saying something but only finally payed attention after he spit out the coffee and realized he must have grabbed hers. “Oh um… i can buy you another? I mean honestly pay more attention next time i guess.” He said rather rudely.
Oh come on, her drink wasn’t that bad. It may not have been everyone’s preference, but certainly was not so horrible as to warrant him spitting it back out. He appeared more annoyed that he had grabbed the wrong drink than apologetic that he had taken and wasted her coffee. Certainly an apology wasn’t too hard, was it? A simple ‘I’m sorry’ would have sufficed. While she appreciated his offer to buy her another his next words negated the gesture. Elsa’s expression turned stony and her mood turned bitter. “I do believe it was you who lacked attentiveness,” Her tone was icy. “Or do you purposefully take drinks that are not yours?” How what the stranger had said made any sense to him was beyond her. He had been the one not paying enough attention to realize that it wasn’t his drink. Not to mention he hadn’t even noticed her reaching out to try to stop him.
Oh. Sally blinked and stared, before her eyes widened with realization. Twisting the cup around, that was indeed not her name- ‘Elsa’ staring back at her. How had she heard Sally? The two names were nothing alike. Perhaps she needed to replace her ears…
“I’m sorry,” Sally spoke quickly, setting the mug down and immediately reaching for her wallet, “I didn’t hear properly and here I am stealing your drink. I’ll buy you another one, Elsa. Just a moment.” Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, silently mortified at what she had done.
“Oh no, that isn’t necessary,” Elsa really didn’t need the stranger to buy her a drink. She could more than afford a replacement and she hated getting more involved with other people than she needed to. The only reason she had even said anything was in the hopes of stopping the woman before she drank it. And the obvious embarrassment and guilt over taking the wrong drink didn’t leave Elsa feeling cross. “It’s quite alright. I don’t believe she said my name clearly enough, I only barely heard it myself.”
she should’ve heard the other speak, should’ve looked at the cup, should’ve been able to differentiate between them calling a name like elsa and a name like blake - she had a very keen set of cat ears, after all - but there she was, coffee in hand and on her mouth before she saw the hand reach out.
and instead of what she was expecting - chamomile-peach tea with an extra pump of liquid sugar - she got something that was so different than what she was hoping for. it made her reel back, nose scrunched up, eyes darting from the cup to the blonde. “ oh my gosh - ” that would explain why it tasted so weird: it wasn’t her’s to begin with. “ i’m so sorry. ” the guilt cast a shadow over her features, quickly moving them from that fine mix of surprise and distaste to genuine apology. “ i thought they called my name, i - ” turning the cup, the quick scrawl definitely did not read anything like her name, either. “ i’m so sorry, ” she repeated, her words quick, scrambling for purchase against the oncoming chewing-out she was sure she was going to receive from the stranger. “ i can get you another one ? i’ll wait in line for it and everything. you don’t have to worry about anything. ” it was becoming increasingly clear that she wasn’t good at confrontations, no matter how much time she spent protesting.
The other girl clearly was not a fan of Elsa’s drink. Or perhaps she’d just been expecting something entirely different. Like when you mistake an oatmeal raisin cookie for once with chocolate chips - not bad, but a bit of a shock to the taste buds. She supposed a cold brew wasn’t for everyone. The cream on the top was sweet, but underneath it rested pure coffee undiluted with milk. Just because it was smoother tasting than a normal cup of coffee didn’t mean it wasn’t still bitter.
“Oh, no it’s fine. It was just a simple mistake,” Even though it was Elsa’s drink that had been taken, she found herself feeling nearly as bad as if the situation was reversed. She felt guilty that the other looked so mortified. Oh, and flustered. The girl wouldn’t stop apologizing and Elsa wasn’t sure how to react other than keep repeating that it was okay. “Really, it’s quite alright,” She tried to give the stranger a somewhat comforting half smile. If anything she probably just looked uncomfortable. “Oh that won’t be necessary. The line isn’t too long... and I can afford a replacement.” If Elsa had been more greatly inconvenienced by the event she may have asked her coffee ‘thief’ to get her a new drink, but she wasn’t in much of a hurry and the cold brew had only cost a few dollars.
he didn’t expect much response from the girl. the compliment was pretty one sided in his opinion. just him stating what he thought and when he was being honest he really did feel like her lax personality and almost cold aura about her almost comforting and for someone like him he figured she’d just understand why he’d point it out as a positive. “i just think it’s nicer than having to pretend im always interested.” vague. but it was true. he has had to sit through hundreds of endless conversations that he didn’t know if he would last until he finally let that rude side of him just walk away, leaving the company he was with in shock on what they could have possibly said. and half the time it wasn’t. he just got overwhelmed. “can i be honest then?” he asked but it wasn’t a question he was really looking for an answer to. “i think its obvious that we both don’t talk to many people. i hate it. mostly people bore me with horribly stupid topics i don’t even understand half the time. and im not good at speaking much… but i am just saying you’re not bad at it. you say what you need to and leave what doesn’t need to be said out.” he said seriously as he sat back in the chair. it was good to let it out a confession that he’d prefer her short quibs on things they both liked more than what the weather was going to be like in some part of the world, or a book someone read years ago and couldn’t remember the title of but then continue to tell him the whole story line ruining the end.
Elsa didn’t think that too much of what she had said was all that interesting, but she wasn’t about to complain that someone found her engaging. At least enough to be searching for a way out of the conversation at any given moment. The only times she really found herself bored by someone was occasionally during business meetings where she already knew everything being discussed. Elsa typically tried to always stay alert and focused on whatever was being said to her out of politeness. “Of course,” She answered, curious as to what he was about to say. And when he did reveal his thoughts she found herself uncertain of how to proceed. Her to-the-point way of speaking wasn’t often complimented. Not that her drawn out rambling like her sister’s was much more desired, but at least it didn’t leave a lack to talk about. Anna could annoy people, but Elsa tended to just bore. “Thank you..?” The way she spoke almost made it seem like a question. Perhaps she just wasn’t used to compliments (even odd ones like this) or she wasn’t sure how to take being told she wasn’t bad at talking. “Well I’m glad to not be boring you... and I suppose it is nice to not have to deal with quite as many pleasantries as I’m used to.”
Elsa had been patiently waiting for her coffee for the past few minutes while she scrolled through emails on her phone. Some she actually read and other she saved for later after reading the first few lines. It was her lunch break after all. Elsa didn’t have a big appetite and preferred to eat in smaller quantities throughout the day rather than three large meals. More often than not, she took a coffee or tea in place of breakfast or lunch on a day she was in the office. It was simply more convenient and food would only upset her stomach if she got stressed later on.
When her to-go order was set on the counter the barista either mumbled her name or forgot to say it entirely. Fortunately she could see an ‘Elsa’ scribbled on the side of the cup so she knew it was hers. But before she could grab it someone else reached out and took it, clearly thinking it was for them. “I’m sorry, but I think that’s-” She spoke up, but they took a swig of the drink before she could finish, “....mine.”
Leg bouncing rapidly beneath the table, Anna took her eyes off the entrance just long enough to check the time on her phone, a motion she’d already made several times in the past few minutes, but who could blame her? Elsa had actually agreed to go out to brunch with her, which meant at least a full hour spent willingly in her company! Anna couldn’t remember the last time they’d spent any significant time together where it had actually been her sister’s choice. Even her time sleeping on the older girl’s couch had been more an obligation than any desire to see her.
Of course, in her excitement, Anna may have arrived at the restaurant a bit early…or a lot early…and already drank far too much coffee while waiting, “C’mon, c’mon…where are are you…”
Typically Elsa always tried to arrive early no matter the occasion. But today wasn’t her usual business meeting - she was having brunch with her sister. Elsa had put it off as long as she could, but she could only say she was ‘too busy’ so many times before it became obvious it was just an excuse. After Anna left the apartment for a hotel Elsa had gone back to limiting their contact to only texts and occasional calls. But there was no more avoiding it. They’d decided on a quaint little restaurant uptown with a view of the water.
Elsa arrived right on time. She spotted her sister’s telltale red hair immediately upon walking inside the restaurant. Her sister had found a nice table by a window and already had an empty cup in front of her. Hopefully not coffee, which wouldn’t help with any nerves. “Hello, Anna,” Elsa sat down across from her sister with a soft smile.
“you make it sound like its a problem that you aren’t so outgoing. “ sure, societal norms might pick this sort of behavior off as usual and odd but considering who phoenix is and how his own personality was not one seen as anything people desired… he had a different opinion on the way elsa acted compared to someone that if he got stuck talking to them he’d claw at any chance to get away from them or he’d be so rude that the other would find him unbearable to be around. and even when he did say questionable things to elsa she didn’t seem to slink away. her silence just lingered. “i’m certainly not outgoing. and you haven’t cowered away.” he said only to let hues of dark flicker toward her. “i find it calming. the way that you don’t hold an excitable expectation toward me when i talk. it’s actually more refreshing if anything else.” he said with a sift shrug. and it was. silence was tense but it wasn’t aggravating. “you don’t know how many people hate talking to me… this has been the longest conversation i’ve had with someone in… a very long time.”
Elsa was not a very confident woman and she found that she often said negative things about herself without even intending to. Perhaps it was a bit of self hatred subconsciously slipping into her words. When she said that Anna was the opposite of cold and solemn, she’d only been thinking about how bright and enthusiastic her sister was. Elsa hadn’t even realized that the comparison was a way of putting herself down. Though ‘not so outgoing’ was probably an understatement when it came to her personality. She was more than just introverted - Elsa was terrified of getting close to someone. Letting them in. Risking her secret getting out. The way Phoenix was talking about her made her nervous. The anxiety was, at the moment, buried deep down, but slowly rising to the surface. She had thought that their meeting would lead to nothing. That they would simply walk to the coffee shop and then part ways forever. But she was actually finding that she enjoyed his company a little bit. “Oh. Well, um, thank you,” Elsa spoke softly, not sure how to respond. When people commented on her quiet nature it was rarely ever in a positive manner. She wanted to act surprised when he said that people hated talking to him.... but if he went around asking people impolite questions (like if their hands are sweaty) then perhaps it made sense. “I don’t really talk to anyone outside of work,” She admitted, ice blue eyes keeping her gaze on a nearby window rather than on her companion. “At least not to this extent.”
Light and uplifting, I felt like this instrumental piece really encapsulates how Elsa felt during the early years of her childhood. She was happy and naive, living a seemingly perfect life with two parents that always made her feel loved and a younger sister who was also her best friend. Nights spent stealing chocolate from the kitchen or making snowmen in the foyer. Snuggling close to her mother as her father told them stories. Being a family. Feeling whole. Warm. Loved. Happy.
Jane’s Escape by Dario Marianelli
The night she struck Anna with her ice magic. This was a moment in her life that I really struggled with finding a song to go with. I wanted something sad, but not mellow. Something with tension, but not so much energy that it sounded like an action scene I thought this piece was able to create the atmosphere I was looking for. Sorrowful and dark, all of the instruments utilized in the song create a beautifully tragic melody. It felt perfect for such a defining moment in Elsa’s life.
4 O’Clock Reprise by Emilie Autumn
Elsa’s early isolation from when she was young. Although she was suffering from the emotional trauma caused by Anna’s accident, she was still a child. Her magic wasn’t quite as out of control yet. She was still wistful in her belief it was only temporary and her life would soon go back to normal. Days spent gazing out the window, longing to return to something she didn’t know she would never get back. Overall this song isn’t very sad, but there definitely is an underlying tone to it - which is especially apparent in the crescendo - that feels bittersweet. Sweet and youthful, but with something sorrowful hidden beneath the surface.
Do You Never Laugh, Miss Eyre? by Dario Marianelli
Another song from the Jane Eyre score. Honestly the entire album is beautiful and it was difficult to not have every song on this task be from it. This particular piece fits into Elsa’s late childhood and teenage years. I wanted something mellow and melancholic for these years of her life. It was during this time that she grew incredibly lonely and withdrawn emotionally. Her mantra of “conceal, don’t feel” really took over who she was as a person. She began fully relying on the gloves to control her powers. By then Anna was getting old enough to start asking questions about why her older sister was always in her room. It was around that time that the press also began to notice how the Agnarr and Iduna’s first child was rarely ever seen in public. To solve both those problems Elsa was sent to a small, expensive boarding school.
Antidote by Faith Marie
Depression is something that began developing in Elsa from a young age and really set in once she was sent off to boarding school. She knew why her parents did it and that it was better for everyone, including herself, that she was away from home. That did mean it helped improve her mental health. Not only was she completely isolated from her family, but she was surrounded by strangers who she couldn’t connect to in any way. She had to be especially careful about controlling her emotions and it was the first time in years that she had to emotionally distance herself from anyone other than Anna. This theme of being scared of herself throughout the song applies to how Elsa felt about both her magic and her mental state. Her teenage years were a rather dark time in her life, and it would only worsen after her parents died.
Lily's Theme by Alexandre Desplat
Finding out her parents had died on a trip out at sea. I chose this song in part because of how incredibly sorrowful it sounds, but also because of the haunting vocals that linger throughout the song. The voice reminded me of the calling from Ahtohallan that Elsa hears during the second movie. It seemed fitting that Elsa would “hear” something resembling her mother’s calling at the time of her death. The song repeatedly switches between quiet, eerie music accompanied by a melancholic voice and a crescendo and decrescendo of instruments. This to me resonated with how Elsa goes back and forth between feeling emotionally numb, almost trying to deny or block out what happened, and feeling completely out of control both emotionally and in regards to her magic.
Sorrow by Sleeping at Last
A time of mourning. The months after Agnarr and Iduna’s deaths. This song does a beautiful job of describing this painful period of her life. Trying so hard to maintain her composure and move forward, but feeling like she was constantly falling apart. She didn’t leave the house for six months. Roaming through the halls like a ghost on the brief occasions she came out of her room. It took a while for Elsa to get to a place where she wasn’t on the verge of a breakdown at any given moment.
Windows In Heaven by We Are The In Crowd
Reflecting on everything she’s accomplished since her parents’ deaths and who she has become as a person. Wishing they were still around to tell her if what she is doing is right. She still has rare moments where the sorrow over the loss of her mother and father overtakes her. Elsa has never been a religious person, but since their deaths she’s found herself occasionally wondering if they are still watching over her.
The Living Sculptures of Pemberley by Benjamin Wallfisch
By no means has Elsa fully healed from the death of her parents, but she’s certainly in a better place now than she was before. She has full control over her emotions. Rarely does she have any emotional breakdowns. Elsa is calm and quiet. Cold and solemn. Completely withdrawn from others. It’s not hard to see that she’s unhappy, but her life is no longer completely dictated by her sadness. She’s functioning. Going to the office, grabbing coffee, finding new books, engaging in small talk - a semblance of normalcy.
phoenix had not much knowledge on huge companies. he wasn’t a man who paid attention to the news, popular brands, hell he had little care for any of that. if something didn’t personally affect phoenix in a whole he spent very little time paying attention to it. even if he perhaps would have seen something on the company in the news it would have never sparked his interest long enough to retain the information. she was so… interesting in the oddest way. he didn’t think he’d run into a person so similar to him in certain ways and yet they had been so completely different in others. “really? that is interesting.” he said with a shrug but let her move on. but what really got him was the idea that her sister was excitable. he knew different people had different personalities but to go from calm and professional, able to be a CEO of a family business and then a person who can’t even be at a desk very long. it was humorous to him. “really? excitable? now that is just not what i was expecting to hear. i mean… just because you’re not like that.” he bite his lip and shook his head. “excitable, you know?”
Elsa was glad that he didn’t push her on the subject of if she’d ever considered other paths in life. If he had she would have certainly just shut down again. It was a topic that made her uncomfortable both because it was personal and because considering other avenues than her current position or if she liked her job were things she didn’t have concrete answers to. Phoenix had found one of the few things Elsa felt confident talking about and managed to ask her the only questions relating to it that made her uneasy. “Yes, my sister is as far from cold and solemn as possible,” The hint of a small smile appeared on visage. Elsa loved her sister more than anything in the world - even if Anna probably thought otherwise - and talking about the younger girl was (usually) enjoyable. “She more than makes up for my lack of emotion.”
not that phoenix would ever say he had been able to read elsa in any way but he had come accustom to her mannerisms. mostly because they mirrored his own. silence when she wanted to keep something to herself and when she was interested there was a way she focused on him, actually taking in what he was saying. somehow he actually liked the attention, it was calming and easy to hold onto instead of someone with a more open personality and would only overwhelm him and make him angry. it’s why he struggled so hard talking to others, but elsa was different. she made it easy. even if they were both so terrible at speaking.
she, supposed? that was all? he tilted his head. he had a job he picked up on the spot, easy money. but for a girl like elsa to be a ceo he figured she’d be much more certain of her answer but her explanation made sense. family company. “ah… so you just moved up to that position. i guess it’s better that you are proud of the company.” but something wanted to know what elsa would be if she didn’t do what her family did. “did you ever want to be something else?” he asked. sometimes he thought about it himself but he could never think of one thing. perhaps it just meant he wasn’t made for that kind of life, stuck doing one thing. before he moved to porthaven he was building cabinets, and before that, he served in a small diner. “does your sister work for the company?”
‘Moved up’ certainly was a way to call what had happened - if you called inheriting a massive company following the death of your parents ‘moving up’. Àrnadalr Industries was a tech giant in Norway, but it wasn’t as widely talked about in America. She’d noticed that most European and Scandinavian companies weren’t very well known in the U.S. unless they were big name fashion brands. Thus, he had probably never heard of her company before. And even if he had, she doubted the news of her parents’ deaths were widely broadcasted in the states enough for him to have known about it. Fortunately he didn’t know she was only 21 - going on 22 in a few months - since her young age was usually an indicator for most people that something unusual must have happened to have gotten her to such a high up position. “I can’t say I’ve ever really considering doing anything else,” Elsa answered, beginning to venture into territory that was more personal than she was willing to divulge. Fortunately the topic of conversation was moved onto Anna. “Oh no, certainly not. I believe the company as a whole interests her to some degree, but the idea of working there is far too boring for her. She’s far too.... excitable to sit at a desk for hours.”
her question seemed to surprise phoenix. he never expected her to want to know much else about what he did… not thinking she held any interest. but he would much rather talk about his job than anything personal; not unless it was his darling cat or soup apparently. “not really. i might of had to enhance my resume a bit to get the experience but so far it hasn’t even been that hard. this isn’t a big city so the most i deal with has been car or truck frames. we tear them apart and use the scrap.” it was a job around heat. melting metal all day had become something phoenix found much simpler when all he had to do was touch an object as long as no one was around to see him. “we get a few calls on fixing metal fences and stuff like that…” he explained to the girl he cleared his throat. the male had such negative thoughts about himself, to think elsa actually having an interest in anything he spoke about was a hard thing to grasp and yet she never seemed truly bored when he spoke. “its really not that exciting.” he admitted. but work never was. his hands played with the small paper bag that had held the food. “do you like your job, elsa?”
Talking about his job clearly was a comfortable subject. Not something he seemed particularly passionate about, but he was open about it. So neither of them had any issue talking about their work. Elsa could talk for hours about topics relating to her company. It was professional - impersonal. She never felt like she was really talking about herself when Àrnadalr Industries was brought up. People wanted to know about the company, not about Elsa specifically. Well, unless they were trying to get ‘the scoop’ on the new CEO. “Ah, I see,” She took another sip of her coffee. Metalworking wasn’t a job she knew too much about. Elsa actually wanted to inquire into what they used the metal scraps to make, but refrained when he kept talking. “Well, it certainly sound more stimulating than sitting in an office all day,” She lightly joked. Not that she was really talking about her job specifically, more-so the types of workers who clocked in a 9 to 5 filing paperwork. His next question took her by surprise and for a few moments she clearly struggled to come up with an answer. Did she like her job? She couldn’t recall ever having been asked that before. People asked what she did, how much it paid, if she was any good at it - rarely was she asked if she enjoyed what she did. “I... I suppose I do, yes,” Elsa felt uneasy answering, but not for the same reason she’d felt uncomfortable before. Why was it something she questioned? Why didn’t she have an immediate answer? She’d been preparing for years to take up her father’s mantle, so why did being asked if she enjoyed it make her uncomfortable? The company was supposed to be her safe topic. Elsa shook her mind of the thoughts, taking on a more professional tone, “My family has run Àrnadalr Industries for generations, I’m proud to now lead the company myself.”
the last bite. he had devoured his food. pheonix knew one thing he had an appetite. sometimes he wondered if the heat he had in him had anything to do with his never ending appetite. his heart rate high and always burning. that made sense right? but he noticed elsa barely touched anything. instead he watched as the girl swirled the coffee around until she asked him a question. “oh, i got a job at the metal shop” he said silently. a much more labor intensive job than what elsa must have to deal with. “it was just a job to pick up.”
the man finished his food. and right there he swallowed hard because he was left not knowing what was next for them. some reason he didn’t want the conversation to end. it was the first time that he had talked to someone; even if he sucked at it and he was sure that the girl across from him was just humoring him at this point. “it’s only been a week there so we’ll see how it goes.”
Phoenix certainly made up for Elsa’s lack of an appetite. He must have been rather hungry with how fast he finished off his drink and pastry. Or perhaps she was truly just an incredibly slow eater and he was just eating at a normal pace. Either way, he was finished and she still had at least half of her coffee and croissant left. She wasn’t sure how much longer he planned to stick around to continue talking or if he would take the opportunity to leave. Elsa would be fine either way, though since moving further past the incredibly awkward beginning of their meeting she had slowly begun to find him more enjoyable to talk to. Or perhaps ‘tolerable’ was a better word since she still felt unsure of how to keep the flow of the conversation going. She still had bouts of feeling uncomfortable. “That’s a rather interesting occupation,” She commented, genuinely curious about his job now. It certainly was more fascinating than running a business. “Do you have much experience with, um, metalworking?” Elsa hadn’t even known there was such a business in the city.
“right. busy.” he said back to her though he had no reason to. he had noticed from the very start that she was busy. the multiple times she checked her phone. “you’re a CEO, so i guess that makes sense why… no cats.” he said looking at the clear cup of ice and coffee, slowly being drank as he sat across from the girl. his eyes looked around the cafe only to fall back on her. “i guess it proves im just not busy enough.” he finally said. his job wasn’t demanding, or it hadn’t been since he started and he never went out, didn’t like making friends only to be invited out to things he’d have to pretend to be happy or enjoy.
“cig is pretty much the only thing i have to keep up with.” not that he minded. a cat was just what pheonix needed to remind himself he had a heart. or that others could have a heart toward him. when he looked at the cat he could see that he was happy. something pheonix struggled to see when he thought of people, especially after growing up knowing he had a whole place who saw what he was as nothing but a monster.
Elsa knew that saying she was too busy for a pet was a bad excuse. Perhaps if it was a dog, but most other domestic animals didn’t require that much attention. Cats were pretty much fine to be on their own all day as long as they had a litter box and a source of food. She couldn’t tell if he believed it or not. Either way at least he wasn’t countering it. If he had she wasn’t sure what other excuses to give. Elsa gently swirled coffee around in case anything had settled on the bottom while she’d been talking. She had a tendency to eat her food slowly, almost gracefully, so it tended to go cold (or room temp) before she finished it. Her coffee still retained its heat, but her croissant had lost most of its warmth.
“Oh? Where do you work?” She inquired, curious as to what he did that required less than or as much work as taking care of a cat. Sometimes she wondered what she would be doing with her life she hadn’t inherited her parents’ company. If they were still alive she’d be shadowing her father, working under his wing in preparation for when he retired and handed the business off to her. But beyond that, she had no idea. If her parents hadn’t planned on making her the next CEO or never had the company in the first place Elsa had absolutely no clue what else she would have done. It wasn’t like she had many interests that could be funneled into a career.
